A Cure For Distraction
“Let your eyes look directly ahead And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.”
Proverbs 4:25
When my kids were young, they liked to play video games on the TV in the living room. Things are not always quiet in the living room, especially with 4 kids and a dog.
When the one playing the game got to a crucial moment, invariably someone would say something or make a noise. “Uhhhh! You made me lose!” They had become… distracted.
God had given instructions to the children of Israel as they were going into the promised land.
“It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.”
Joshua 6:5
They were also commanded to not to take the”accursed things.”
“And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.”
Joshua 6:18
The children of Israel did well going into Jericho. They obeyed. God gave them the victory.
Then came Ai. Small city.
Piece of cake, right?
Nope. They were defeated. Why? A Man named Achan got distracted. Lots were cast and they figured out it was him. He confessed:
“When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it.”
Joshua 7:21
Instead of looking straight ahead, keeping his eyes on the goal, he looked down, or to the side, and saw “a beautiful Babylonian garment.” It may have been shinier and nicer than anything he had. Then he saw gold!
The wheels were turning in his mind. “No one will ever know!” So, he takes the items and hides them.
I won’t go into details here, but it doesn’t end well for him.
So, how do we keep from getting distracted? Solomon gives advice:
“Let your eyes look directly ahead And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.”
Proverbs 4:25
Also, Jesus showed us how to keep focused and not be distracted.
“looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:2
Let’s try to be like Jesus!
Stay focused on the goal!
